Kosovo is the remaining piece of the ex-Yugoslav puzzle that still needs to be resolved, and last week began the process of ending its limbo status. Independence, or so the plan by UN special envoy Martti Ahtisaari pledges, may come for Kosovo in 2007, but the eruption of hostilities between Serbia, which considers Kosovo a vital and historic part of its territory (harkening back to the devastating Battle of Kosovo in 1389 that brought the defeat of the Serbian empire) and seeks to protect the rights of Serbs living in the region, and the Kosovar Albanians, who constitute about 90% of the region’s population, is a distinct possibility.

Though still technically part of Serbia, the Kosovo region has been administered by the United Nations since 1999. At that time, Serbs had launched an offensive in Kosovo, which unleashed a NATO bombardment of select targets in Yugoslavia that in turn prompted an ethnic cleansing campaign by the Serbs against Kosovo’s majority ethnic Albanian population. Subsequent peace negotiations brought the withdrawal of Serbian troops and their replacement by NATO troops and administration by the UN.

In Vienna last week Ahtissari outlined his proposal to the Contact Group for Kosovo, consisting of Russia, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, and Germany. This week that plan will be presented to both Kosovo and the government of Serbia. The proposal calls for a form of independence with some limits on sovereignty (it would bring UN membership, as well as membership for Kosovo in several other international institutions), primarily to protect the rights of the Serb minority. Serbia’s hardline Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica, who defeated Slobodan Milosevic for the presidency of Yugoslavia in 2000, is intent on keeping Kosovo within Serbia’s orbit, though its pro-Western President Boris Tadic is more likely to take a moderate stance. (Indeed, when Ahtisaari arrives in Serbia, he will meet with Mr. Tadic but not with Kostunica, according to the Serbian government.) Complicating the timing of the plan is that Serbia only recently held elections, and many in Serbia (as well as some European countries that support independence for Kosovo) are seeking a delay until the next Serbian government is formed.

More important, perhaps, than the reaction of Serbia’s government is that of the Contact Group. The United States and the European Union generally back independence for Kosovo. Serbia’s ally Russia, however, has sought to delay the recommendations for several months. The UN Security Council will have to approve the plan, but Russia has threatened to veto it. Should it pass the Security Council in a few months time, Kosovo will soon declare independence, and the backing of the international community–including that of Serbia’s strongest ally–would likely bring peace and stability (as well as UN membership) to the region. If, however, Russia vetoes the plan, Kosovo has expressed an interest in declaring independence unilaterally, perhaps touching off a new round of fighting that could possibly lead to violence between the Serbs and Albanians living in Kosovo and possibly bring external intervention.

The war scenario would most obviously be distressing for all European countries, including Russia, and potentially destabilizing to Serbia’s neighbors, and it should be avoided at all costs. The reality is that the arc of history suggests that it is inevitable that Kosovo will achieve independence sooner or later and that the region will never again be administered from Belgrade. Thirty years from now, when Kosovo and Serbia are fellow members of the European Union, people will wonder what all the fuss was about. But, in 2007 the fuss threatens to engulf the region in another battle. The best scenario is that Serbia and Russia will reconsider their opposition to Kosovo’s indpendence and work within the framework established by the UN. If this occurs, there stands an excellent chance that Kosovo will gain the independence that it yearns for and the rights of the some 115,000 Serbs living in Kosovo will be protected. Compromise might be difficult for politicians on all sides, but it is essential for the greater good. So, let’s hope that politicians on all sides will make the necessary tough choices and opt for a solution that might not be optimal for them politically but optimal for the region collectively.